- September 12, 2026
Everyone’s Talking About BRICS Currency — Here’s The Catch: It Isn’t Real
Last Updated:
There’s no BRICS currency, and none is in the works. Here’s what the talk is actually about — de-dollarisation, CBDC links, and why a shared currency is nearly impossible.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said targeting the dollar is “not part of our economic, political, or strategic policy.” (AFP)
For an average person, ‘BRICS currency’ sounds like a new kind of money about to replace the dollar. It isn’t. No such currency exists, none is being printed, and BRICS has never formally agreed to build one. Yet the phrase keeps trending — especially with India hosting the 2026 summit.
The confusion comes from mixing up two different things: talk about reducing dependence on the US dollar, and an actual shared currency like the euro. BRICS nations discuss the first constantly. The second has never been on the table in any serious, agreed-upon way.
So What Exactly Is Everyone Arguing About?
The real debate is over “de-dollarisation” — a decades-old term, coined by economist Robert Triffin in the 1960s, for reducing the world’s heavy reliance on the US dollar for trade and savings.
US President Donald Trump revived the phrase, repeatedly accusing BRICS of plotting to dump the dollar and threatening tariffs on members who try. That accusation is what keeps “BRICS currency” in headlines — not any real currency plan.
Why Does The Dollar Matter This Much Anyway?
| Measure | Dollar | Yuan |
|---|---|---|
| Share of global currency trades (April 2025) | 89.2% | 8.5% |
| Share of world’s central bank reserves (Q1 2026) | 57.13% | 1.99% |
| Dollar’s reserve share, late 1990s (for comparison) | ~71% | — |
Source: Bank for International Settlements; IMF Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER)
Reserves are the money countries set aside as a financial safety net; currency-trading share reflects what’s actually used to buy and sell goods across borders. On both counts, the dollar still leads by a wide margin — even as its reserve share has slipped from the levels above.
Has India Ever Backed A ‘BRICS Currency’?
No. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said targeting the dollar is “not part of our economic, political, or strategic policy.”.
India has concerns about over-relying on one currency, but has consistently avoided joining any collective push to replace the dollar — partly because doing so would hand more influence to China, the bloc’s largest economy and the one with BRICS’ most internationally used currency.
Then What Is India Pushing For At The 2026 Summit?
Something far narrower and more technical: linking central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) — digital versions of national currencies like the digital rupee — across BRICS countries, so trade and tourism payments settle faster and cheaper.
According to NDTV, the Reserve Bank of India has recommended this be placed formally before BRICS leaders for the first time, building on a 2025 Rio declaration calling for better-connected payment systems.
Why Can’t BRICS Just Build A Shared Currency Like The Euro?
• The euro took years of matched inflation rates, shared fiscal rules and deep political integration among broadly similar economies — BRICS’ 11 members have none of that alignment.
• Members range from major industrial economies to smaller developing ones, with very different inflation levels, interest rates and capital controls.
• A common currency, per Observer Research Foundation’s Harsh Pant (quoted in Firstpost), is “too far” for a bloc this divergent.
• India specifically worries a China-dominated bloc could just swap dollar dependence for yuan dependence.
So What’s Actually Happening, In Plain Terms?
• Countries settling more trade bilaterally in their own currencies — India-Russia rupee-rouble trade is one working example.
• India proposing to link digital currencies across BRICS for faster, cheaper cross-border payments.
• The New Development Bank raising its target for local-currency lending to 40-50 per cent under its 2027-31 strategy.
• India’s trade deficit with the rest of BRICS — above $226 billion, per NDTV — complicating any big currency switch, since India buys far more from the bloc than it sells.
None of this adds up to a single ‘BRICS currency’. It adds up to countries wanting more options besides the dollar — while the dollar, for now, keeps its lead.
Quick Answers
Ask News18No, there is no official BRICS currency in existence, none is being printed, and the bloc has never formally agreed to build one. While the phrase frequently trends, the actual discussions among BRICS nations focus on “de-dollarisation”—reducing their reliance on the US dollar for trade and savings—rather than establishing a shared currency like the euro.
Ask News18About the Author
Sumedha Kirti is a Chief Sub Editor with over eight years of experience — both at the desk and reporting. She is a graduate from Delhi University’s Miranda House. Kirti has previously worked with news…Read More
September 12, 2026, 09:09 IST
Read More
